Julie immediately went to the sink and picked up a bowl of lemons that had been draining there. “It will take me just a few minutes to whip up a pitcher of lemonade,” she said. “Make yourselves at home.” Caitlyn and I wandered into the sitting room and began looking at all the photos they had on the walls.
Most of the photos were of a young man, about 20, clean-cut and smiling. One picture showed him on a tractor with Tom, another showed him sitting on some bales of hay, with Timsin the dog on his lap, licking his face. Yet another showed all three of them in what was obviously a formal family portrait.
“Who is this young man in these pictures, Julie?” I asked.
There was no answer. I walked back into the kitchen where Julie was cutting lemons and squeezing the juice through a strainer into another bowl.
“Julie?” I asked.
She glanced up at me, smiling, and I saw there were tears in her eyes.
“Hey, are you okay?” I asked, coming up to her and putting my hand on her shoulder.
“Oh, I’m fine,” she replied, stopping to blow her nose. “I’m sorry. That’s Ethan, our son. He’s…” she stopped and new tears ran down her face.
“Oh, hey. I’m sorry to have asked.” I said, putting my arm around her. Caitlyn then came into the room behind me. She didn’t say anything, just patted Julie’s arm. Julie looked up at us and smiled.
“I’m okay. It’s just that Ethan’s over in Afghanistan. He’s in the Marines. When the plague broke out, he wanted to get as far away from it as he could, so he signed up. But now he’s also away from us. Since he’s been over there, we hardly hear from him, and when we do, he’s like a different person. The military has changed him. He’s not our little boy anymore. And I worry every day that he might be killed. My nightmare is to have the military show up at my front door to tell me he’s gone. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a youngster around these parts …” her voice trailed off.
“We understand.” I said.
“Yeah, we do. It’s okay to cry, Julie,” said Caitlyn.
Julie blew her nose one more time, then smiled again. “I just wish this wretched infection hadn’t ever happened,” she turned back to the lemons. “I hate every bit of it.” She began cutting lemons again, this time with vehemence. She looked so angry that I worried she might cut herself.
“You want me to do that?” I asked.
“No, I’m fine. Really,” she answered.
Caitlyn and I looked at each other and wandered back into the sitting room. We took maybe ten minutes looking at the little figurines and tatted doilies she had on display. I was leaning forward examining an antique sampler hanging on the far wall when she came into the room with a tray and holding a large pitcher of lemonade and some glasses already filled with ice cubes.
“Here we are, fresh lemonade!” she said.
Chapter Eight
We all wandered out of the farmhouse together. Caitlyn and I both had glasses of delicious lemonade and Julie had her tray holding more glasses and the refilled pitcher. She handed out glasses of lemonade to the men and then to Risa and Luke.
“My goodness, this is delicious!” DeAndre said, drinking deeply. And it was. Everything about this place seemed idyllic. Jake drank deeply and then looked at me over the edge of his glass and smiled, his eyes crinkling in the sunshine.
“Well, folks. I’m going to go whip up some fried chicken and mashed potatoes and biscuits. You all enjoy the farm with Tom,” said Julie. She went back into the house, but left the tray with its half-full pitcher of lemonade on the bale of hay by the fence.
We all stood there for ten more minutes, drinking the wonderful homemade lemonade and enjoying air that smelled of fresh-cut hay and sunshine. Then Tom invited Risa and Luke for a ride on the horses. Those kids were in heaven. I kept taking mental snapshots of this wonderful place. A little voice in the back of my head kept telling me to not let down my guard, that things were a little too perfect, but I shhhhh’d it. I wanted to enjoy this wonderful afternoon. My family, for this one space out of time, was happy. It made my heart swell with contentment.
After the horseback riding, and Risa proudly showing off the skills she had acquired during her previous lessons, Caitlyn, Risa and I stayed to brush out the horse, while Jacob, DeAndre, Stanley and Luke went to tour the wheat fields with Tom.
We had tied the big black horse that Risa had ridden up to a fence next to a pepper tree. The tall, weeping branches provided shade as Risa brushed his coat to a shiny glean. Caitlyn was brushing out the horse’s tail, and I was at his head, braiding his mane. He seemed to be enjoying all the attention, his eyes were half closed in pleasure as Risa work her way from his neck down its body.
“I’m in love with this horse,” Risa said dreamily.
As if in answer, the horse let out a gentle whinny and nodded his head. Laughing, Risa kept brushing his back and talking sweet talk to him. This horse was falling in love with my daughter, and I didn’t blame him at all. She was a treasure. I was so proud of the woman she was growing into. I was very proud of Luke, too. In fact, I wondered when the men would be getting back. They’d been gone over an hour, and the sun was already well on its way to the horizon. It would be sunset before too long. As if on cue, the tractor they had all taken rumbled into view with all of them perched atop it. Luke was there in the front, looking like he was having the time of his life. I smiled at them and turned to Risa and Caitlyn.
“Looks like it might be time to wash up,” I said. “I bet Julie is almost done with the feast she’s making for us.”
After putting the horse back into his paddock and all the brushes back into the little red tack room nearby, we joined the men and in heading into the house. As we approached, the most delicious smells wafted out the open door.
“Oh my, but that smells good!” DeAndre said, patting his stomach. Laughing, Caitlyn wrapped her arm around him and rubbed his belly.
“It does smell good, doesn’t it?” Jacob agreed, breathing in deeply.
As we entered the kitchen, we saw Julie putting the finishing touches on what looked like a delicious meal. She greeted us.
“Hey y’all! You can wash up in the bathroom, through there.” She indicated a short hallway off to her left with her elbow.
We obediently took turns washing up, then we were ushered into a side dining room that was around a corner and hadn’t been visible before. Julie had laid out a fine table with her best dishes. Two platters had been laid out, heaped high with golden fried chicken; my mouth watered just looking at them. Beside them were several bowls of homemade mashed potatoes and a huge tureen of gravy. A large bowl covered in a red-and-white checkerboard print cloth rounded out the meal; I suspected we’d find buttermilk biscuits under that cheery cloth. Blue-and-white plates were set at each place setting, along with glasses and napkins with forks, spoons and knives. Several more pitchers of iced lemonade were set there too. We all groaned in pleasure at the sight. Seating ourselves, we prepared to dig in.
Before we could pick up so much as a chicken leg, Tom sat down at the head of the table and put his hands together.
“Let’s all thank the Lord for this wonderful meal, shall we?”
Jake, D, Stanley, Caitlyn and I bowed our heads and folded our hands in our laps. Risa looked to see what we were doing and followed our form. Luke, seated beside me, leaned his head against me and watched, wide-eyed, at the whole ritual.
“Lord, thank you for this food we are about to eat, for your bounty and blessings upon us. Thank you also for our health and for the gift of new friends.” Tom smiled at us as he finished, “Keep us free and clear of the horrible infection spreading throughout our world, and keep us forever mindful of those less fortunate. Amen.”
“Amen.” We all mumbled.
“Well, Mother, this looks delightful. You’ve outdone yourself,” Tom said.
“Thank you, Tom,” said Julie, blushing and looking down at her plate.
Looking at the table h
eaped with food that represented Julie’s hard work, I thought it was more appropriate to be thanking Julie, not some unseen god in the sky, but I kept my mouth shut. I also thought, as I filled Luke’s plate with a drumstick, a small pile of mashed potatoes and gravy, and a biscuit, that it would indeed be nice if praying to a god could keep us from being infected. So far, I had not seen any divine intervention with regards to the Plague, and I didn’t expect to. When you had been through what we had been through, you realized that it was your own ingenuity, reflexes and fighting skills that kept you free of the infection, not praying to some unseen god. If you left it up to that, you’d be in a heap of trouble. But I wouldn’t tell these people that.
Chewing on a delicious piece of chicken, I looked around the dining room. I wondered if Tom and Julie had been touched by the infection at all. They could have remained isolated here on this beautiful farm. But it seemed wrong to broach such unpleasant subjects while enjoying such a delicious home-cooked meal.
We all fell silent and put our full attention on the bounty of Julie’s kitchen. The biscuits were steamy as we broke them open and spread farm-made butter on them. The gravy was especially delicious, and Jake and DeAndre enjoyed sopping up the last drips with their biscuits. Julie’s fare was so tasty I wished we could take her with us and sample her wonderful cooking every day.
We each had seconds, and the men actually enjoyed third helpings of this simple yet savory meal. Julie had made an enormous amount of food, and even with all nine of us eating our fill there was some left over.
“Well, my darlin’, looks like I’ll have something to take with me when I go out to work the wheat tomorrow,” Tom said as he sat back, allowing his full belly room to expand. Julie smiled. We all soon leaned back in our chairs, satiated and drowsy.
“Why don’t you all retreat to the sitting room, and I’ll bring out some coffee?” Julie said.
Obediently, we all shuffled off to the adjoining room. I felt so full and happy I couldn’t stop smiling. I saw Jacob and DeAndre loosening their belts. Tom had already. Luke, seeing his father and uncle, decided to undo the top button of his jeans. As he walked next to me into the sitting room, they promptly slid to his ankles. Luke floundered, trying to walk with pants around his ankles.
“No, baby,” I said laughing, “You don’t wear a belt yet, so you can keep that button fastened. See how your pants have drooped?” I bent down and grabbed the pants, pulling them back up and buttoning the waist again. Jacob had stopped and come back to where we were. Ruffling Luke’s hair, he smiled down at him.
“It won’t be long before we need to get you a belt, eh, Luke?”
Luke smiled up at his father and horse-skipped into the sitting room, where Caitlyn, DeAndre, Stanley and Tom were already seated.
“It sure has been nice having you all for a visit. God showed his providence with your arrival,” Tom said as he sat back an easy chair. Odd wording, I thought. He hadn’t asked for much in exchange for the meal. He continued.
“I’ve been praying for days, and then you show up and spend the afternoon with us. It’s been very enjoyable,” he smiled.
“Well, we really appreciate your hospitality, we really do,” Jacob said. He pulled out his wallet and withdrew three ten dollar bills and handed them to Tom. “I think we got the better of the deal with this exchange.” He smiled at the farmer, who took the bills and thanked him as he took out his own wallet and carefully folded them into it.
Just then Julie emerged from the kitchen with her tray. This time it held a white coffeepot with yellow flowers painted on the side. Delicate coffee cups surrounded it on the tray. She put it down on a table off to the side and then went back and came again with a matching creamer and sugar bowl. The next ten minutes was spent pouring the coffee, with everyone letting Julie know how many lumps of sugar they wanted and whether they preferred cream or not. She went into the kitchen one last time and came out with a platter heaped high with little cakes and biscuits. They looked too pretty to eat. Smiling, she handed everyone a cream-colored napkin, and we all picked out a dessert treat.
Luke nibbled on a small, square cake experimentally. Tasting it, he then wolfed down the rest, hopped up and reached for another.
“Only one, Sweetheart,” I said in gentle admonishment.
“Oh, let the boy have another,” Tom said, chuckling. “He looks like he could put on a little weight.”
I smiled. “He’s been growing so fast this year, he’s shot up several inches since January,” I said.
“Well, how old is he? Seven? Eight?” asked Tom.
“I’m five and a half!” said Luke, lifting up his hand and spreading his fingers wide. We all laughed. I nodded to Luke, and he picked out another little cake and sat down at my feet with the cup of milk I’d gotten him.
“Well, now. You’re a big fella, aren’t you?” Tom said, smiling down at Luke. Luke smiled and nodded, his mouth full of cake.
I’d applied a bit of makeup to Luke’s face, and with his long hair, Tom and Julie hadn’t noticed his odd coloring. Or if they’d noticed they hadn’t said anything. Luke tended to have so much enthusiasm and energy that people soon were distracted from his skin color.
Julie sipped her coffee and dabbed her mouth with her napkin. “I’m so happy you folks came by. It’s been a pleasure cooking a large meal again, and thanks for liking it so much,” she smiled.
“Oh, Julie, if we could have you cook for us every day, that would be great,” DeAndre said. “Your fried chicken was so good!” He sat back in his chair more and stuck out his middle, rubbing it with one hand.
“Yes, it was. But if Julie cooked for us every day, you’d get fat!” laughed Caitlyn, patting DeAndre’s belly.
“Well, gosh. There’s one more thing I’d like to show you, big fella,” Tom said, looking at Luke. “I’ve got a big red barn that has a hayloft and Old Bessie’s new calf in it. Would you like to see it?”
“YES!!” Luke cried, jumping up and nearly upending his half-full cup of milk.
“Whoa,” I said as I grabbed at the cup. I stood and gathered his plate and my dishes too.
Julie all of a sudden looked nervous. She stood and took the plates from my hands. “Alyssa, I noticed you looking closely at the antique sampler on the wall here,” she said. “I have a collection of several others on the back bedroom. Would you all like to see them?”
“Um,” I looked at Jacob. He stood up.
“Come on, Luke, I’ll show you the barn. You’re gonna love it,” Tom said, getting up himself.
“Uh,” I looked from Tom to Luke and took a step forward.
“I’ll go with you guys, if you don’t mind. I’d love to see the barn,” Jacob said.
“Well …,” Tom said.
“Actually, I’d like to see it, too,” said Stanley, who had been nearly silent the whole afternoon.
Tom looked from Jacob to Stanley and then chuckled. “Well, all right. Sure. Let’s go!” He ruffled Luke’s hair and led the way out of the house.
Caitlyn suddenly shivered. “Boy, I suddenly got a strange feeling.”
“You all right, Baby?” Asked DeAndre, coming up and rubbing her back with concern.
“I guess I am. Just felt a chill crawl up my back. Like someone just walked over my grave,” she rubbed her arms. DeAndre moved around to her front and hugged her.
“Let’s go see Julie’s sampler collection,” said DeAndre, kissing her forehead. I smiled.
Julie led the way up the stairs to the second floor. “I have three really nice ones in this bedroom,” she said. We all went into a small bedroom painted a pale yellow and politely looked at some exquisite antique samplers from the 19th century.
Chapter Nine
Meanwhile, Tom had led the way out of the house and onto a side path that led to the barn. We didn’t know it at the time, but my Jake and my little Luke were about to face a most horrifying experience. It was nearly 8 p.m., and the sun was just setting. The yard and adjoining fields
looked as though they were on fire as they crossed in front of a chicken coop and over to a huge red barn. Luke put his head back to look up at the tall structure.
“Wow, that’s high,” he said. Jacob stared up at it as well.
“That looks higher than two stories, Tom. How high is it?” Jake asked.
Tom stopped and tipped his head back to survey it. “That roof is near forty feet high. I’ve got three levels inside above ground, one more below ground. There’s a cellar for the milk, too,” he said proudly. “Come here, let me show you something.” He walked around to the far side of the building, and they followed him.
“Luke, look at that,” Jake said quietly, pointing through a wooded area behind the barn. Luke’s gaze followed his father’s finger and he saw that there was a young doe about ten feet into the trees. She had paused in her flight to look back at them. Her delicate face was still as she stared at Luke and Jake, and only her ear twitched a little.
Luke slowly stepped a little closer, and Jacob put his hand out on Luke’s shoulder. “No farther, son. Let’s just stay back here,” he said quietly. Suddenly the doe cocked her head an inch and then, without warning, she turned and bounded into the woods as fast she could.
We wouldn’t know it until later, but she was likely startled by some movement from directly behind Jacob.
From Tom.
The farmer had picked up a heavy wooden mallet and had snuck up on Jacob. He raised the mallet high into the air and brought it down crashing onto Jake’s head. Fortunately, Jacob had seen Tom’s arm swinging down, out of the corner of his eye, at the last minute, and had been able to duck slightly before the heavy mallet made contact with his skull. He let out a short cry, “AHHH!!!!!”
Mad World (Book 2): Sanctuary Page 6